UNC Charlotte continues to Stake Its Claim in nearby Cabarrus County. On Nov. 13, Chancellor Philip L. Dubois delivered the keynote address at the Cabarrus Chamber State of the Region meeting held in Concord.

UNC Charlotte’s impact on Cabarrus County is significant and growing. In addition to the address, Dubois spent the day visiting with political, business and education leaders and alumni to hear from them about what the University can do to further cultivate the mutually beneficial connections.

Currently, the University enrolls 1,659 students from Cabarrus County, including 190 freshmen, 164 transfers (more than half from Rowan-Cabarrus Community College) and 284 graduate students. Roughly 6,300 of the University’s 60,000 alums in the region live in Cabarrus County, and more than 700 employees live in the county. Of all the college students from the county pursuing an education at one of the 17 UNC system institutions, 43 percent attend UNC Charlotte.

In this presentation, Dubois talked about how Cabarrus County’s and UNC Charlotte’s future are linked and that both have bright outlooks.

"Highly educated and well-trained college graduates, along with applied research, will continue to power economic development in Cabarrus County," stated Dubois. "Initiatives like our Energy Production and Infrastructure Center, data analytics and advanced manufacturing will continue to grow jobs and investments here."

The chancellor also discussed educational, health care and environmental partnerships between the University and Cabarrus County schools and human services facilities and agencies. An alumni reception at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, which featured head football coach Brad Lambert and Mesbah Uddin, director of the motorsports engineering program, concluded the day. Chancellor Dubois met with Marcus Smith, president and general manager of Charlotte Motor Speedway, prior to an alumni reception at the speedway.

This focused visit is part of an outreach initiative to the 12 counties that comprise the greater Charlotte region in an effort to strengthen relationships within the communities UNC Charlotte serves.